Are college lectures unfair?

Longer tl;dr: the lecture format is overall inferior when compared to a different method of instruction called “active learning”, however this inferiority is exacerbated in certain demographics, no prizes for guessing which ones. Basically, “textbook + lecture + exam” is the lazy, old-fashioned way of teaching. Now we know about better ways and, moreover, why these ways are better.

So, yanno. It’s not you, it’s the format.

Incidentally, adult professional-level education is almost always taught in the “active learning” mode, including at university courses designed to target professionals rather than students/academics (e.g. MBAs).1 In other words, when you’re rich and successful, the courses you take to make you more rich and successful are specifically designed so you don’t fail them. This is one of the reasons everyone in the workplace loves to go on training. You get some days off work and you get to learn something new in a low-pressure environment designed to make you feel like a boss. In other words, it’s basically the opposite of all the schooling you ever had.

Or, specifically, Executive MBAs, which are MBAs designed for people who already have full-time jobs being, like, the CEOs of banks or whatever. ^

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All about Alis

Alis Franklin is an Australianauthor of queerspeculative fiction. She likes cooking, video games, Norse mythology, and feathered dinosaurs. She’s never seen a live drop bear, but stays away from tall trees, just in case.